COLON, Mich. — When tornadoes threated Colon, Michigan and portions of St. Joseph County earlier this week, emergency crews were quick to gear up and stand by. Part of that response was sounding the system of tornado sirens inside the warned area.
After the storm, and almost as quickly as the severe weather rolled through, some concerned residents reported to officials that they did not hear the sirens go off as the storms were bearing down.
While this may sound alarming at first, this kind of report following a storm is not unexpected. In fact, you may be shocked to find out that the tornado sirens in Colon, and for that matter in any city around the state of Michigan, are not meant to be heard inside your home.
Tom Talbot, the Training Captain for Colon Community Fire and Rescue, told us, "With the wind we had and the heavy rains we had. I'm not surprised to hear that people couldn't hear it, even though where the report came from was probably a mile and a half to two miles away from the sirens. So they are relatively close but they are outdoor sirens."
In addition to not being meant for those indoors, Tom also told us that the sirens only sound when the alert first comes out, that is unless additional threats develop and another sounding is requested. Tom said, "When that siren goes off, it has a steady three minute alarm, and once that alarm is done, it will not sound unless they are requested to sound it again by either our agency, emergency management, law enforcement, or the National Weather Service."
Tom says, and we here at 13 On Your Side agree, that the best way to get alerts for severe weather is with a NOAA Weather Radio. These radios can be thought of us a smoke detector for severe weather, and will almost certainly awaken anyone from their sleep. You can also program them for the counties and the alert types you want to be notified about.
Once you are alerted that a storm is coming and you move to your place of shelter, the next best step is to watch a trusted source for news and weather information, like 13 On Your Side. We track the storms in real time on your TV, our Facebook page, our YouTube channel, and streaming on our mobile app.
We will let you know where the danger is and when it's safe to go back outside!
-- Meteorologist Michael Behrens
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